Dartmouth Events

Dr. David McDermott Hughes, Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University and author of "Who Owns the Wind? Climate Crisis and the Hope for Renewable Energy," will give a public talk titled, "Ayn Rand’s Climate Movement: Libertarians, Juries, and the End of Fossil Fuels." This talk is co-sponsored by the Dartmouth Department of Anthropology, the Dartmouth Department of Geography, the Dartmouth Energy Justice Clinic, and the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society. 

In this talk, Professor Hughes will discuss his ethnographic studies of the 'unlikely bedfellows' of climate activists engaged in civil disobedience and libertarians using the tactic of jury nullification — where juries set aside the law — to shut down flows of coal, oil, and gas in the US.

About the Talk
Could civil disobedience shut down flows of coal, oil, and gas in the US? So far, lawful activism has not generated political will sufficient to stabilize the climate and preserve life. In 2021, the Swedish scholar-activist Andreas Malm chided activists for excessive legality. They need to block some things, he said – not to hurt any person - but directly to cut supply chains and keep some oil, gas, and coal in the ground. But, surely, police would arrest such practitioners of civil disobedience, fine or jail them, and scare away any others.

This presentation raises the possibility of a different outcome – one that is increasingly likely in New Hampshire. Like its climate activists, some of the state’s libertarians practice civil disobedience. Many libertarians also embrace a means of avoiding legal consequences: jury nullification. This little-known tactic – whereby juries set aside the law – goes back to the early days of US republic, and earlier. If combined with jury nullification, civil disobedience could make fossil fuel infrastructure unprotectable. Ethnography among both groups makes this clear: climate activists and libertarians stand tantalizingly close to an alliance of means. Unlikely bedfellows may be our last best hope.

About the Speaker
David Hughes works as Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University. He has written four books – including, most recently, Who Owns the Wind? Climate Crisis and the Hope of Renewable Energy. As an activist scholar, Hughes has served as president of his union, Rutgers AAUP-AFT, and currently sits on the Climate Justice Task Force of the American Federation of Teachers.

View a recording of this talk.